Struggling apparel retailer Bebe to shut all stores

by Jimmie Castillo on 22/04/2017

Bebe will pay $550,000 for the two groups' services plus 15 percent of what the company grosses from the store equipment sales. The chain had recently said it had more than 130 retail stores and more than 30 outlet stores in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. In the same week, Macy's also said it was closing dozens of stores.

The company said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that it had signed a deal with liquidator Tiger Capital Group to sell all of its remaining inventory. The retailer did say it expected to incur an impairment charge of $20 million in its third and fourth financial quarters, attributed to deferred rent obligations.

Bebe has plenty of company in the struggling brick-and-mortar retail industry. The company previously disclosed in March that it was exploring strategic alternatives. Sears moved forward with 150 store closures in January, including a 50-year-old location at Tyrone Square Mall.

A number of apparel retailers have gone bankrupt in the last couple of years, including Aeropostale and The Limited, due to lackluster demand as they battle stiff competition from Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O and fast-fashion retailers such as H&M HMb.ST and Zara. According to USA Today, its strategy was "based on designing and selling its own line of women's clothing that it called 'unique, sophisticated and timelessly sexy, ' which the chain said defined 'next-generation chic while staying true to its assertive, provocative origins'".